In defence of the joke no one found funny

The Edinburgh Fringe is an ever-changing beast. More and more venues pop up each year to house more and more comedians. But one thing remains absolutely constant (and oh so predictable!) – the annual chorus of disapproval that greets the announcement of Dave’s Joke of the Fringe.

“If a teenager had said this in a playground, it might be rightfully classed as funny,” huffed one user of this newspaper’s website. “The names of the judges should have been the number one joke,” added another. Quite...